Sudan Military Council: Ousted Leader Bashir Planned to Quell Protests By Force

CAIRO (Sputnik) - The former Sudanese leadership planned to quell mass anti-government protests in Khartoum using military force, that is why the country's military ousted President Omar Bashir from power, a spokesman for Sudan's transitional military council, Shams al-Din Kabashi Ibrahim, said on Sunday.

"Al-Bashir's regime decided to suppress the protests by force- that made us interfere", the spokesman said in a televised address. 

The spokesman also said that Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf and National Intelligence and Security Service chief Salah Gosh stood down.   

READ MORE: Sudan's Military Council Retires Defence Chief, Envoys to US and Switzerland

The transitional council was established on Thursday for a period of up to two years, after the Sudanese military removed Bashir, who had ruled the country for 30 years, from power amid months-long anti-government protests. The defense minister was initially appointed the head of the newly created body, but he resigned the very next day.  

Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, the new chief of transitional council announced on Saturday, the termination of the nationwide state of emergency, which had been earlier introduced by Bashir.  

Rallies in Sudan, which have been going on since December 2018, were initially caused by the rise in bread prices, but protesters later changed their demands and called for the resignation of Sudanese President Omar Bashir.

READ MORE: Deposed Sudanese President Bashir to Face Trial in Sudan — Military Council